As England’s population both expands and ages, so the demands on primary care will grow. Within the current commissioning and funding system innovative models of primary care provision are already being used. This report describes examples of these through four case studies in different areas of England. It also highlights ...
The commission, chaired by Dame Kate Barker, proposes a new approach that redesigns care around individual needs regardless of diagnosis, with a graduated increase in support as needs rise, particularly towards the end of life. The twelve recommendations set out a vision for a more integrated health and social care ...
This is the interim report from the independent Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England. In it, the commission explains why it believes England needs a single health and social care system, with a ring-fenced, singly commissioned budget, and more closely aligned entitlements. Drawing on accounts ...
People's health behaviours are widely known to affect their health and risk of mortality. Less is known about how these behaviours cluster together in the population and how multiple lifestyle risk patterns have changed over time between different population groups. Focusing on changes in the English population between 2003 and ...
The King's Fund and the Nuffield Trust are working together to assess the implementation and impact of clinical commissioning groups. Between 2012 and 2015, we are following the evolution of clinical commissioning in six case-study sites and will publish the findings annually. This first report is based on fieldwork conducted ...
Clinically led approaches to planning and designing health services are more likely to be both innovative and effective. For this reason, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were set up to put GPs at the heart of NHS planning decisions. What progress have CCGs made in implementing their clinically led model and ...
There are about 34,000 people resident in mental health facilities in England and Wales on any one day (Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection 2005) and many of them smoke. Most facilities allow smoking in a designated indoor area, thus exposing patients and staff to second-hand smoke. Smoking and exposure ...
Anna Coote is the Director of the Public Health Programme at the King's Fund. and This is a summary of the report of the same name. The NHS is more than a provider of health services. It is the largest single organisation in the UK. Its potential impact on health, the environment, and the social and economic fabric of our lives is vast. Claiming the ...
Patient choice, particularly the choice of hospital, has been at the heart of health policy for a number of years. The aim of this policy is to create competition, which in turn drives improvements in quality; for this to work effectively, patients have to make their choices on the basis ...
The briefing warns that unless additional funding is found, a growing black hole in NHS finances could have significant consequences for patient care. Although there are opportunities for the NHS to improve productivity, the briefing argues that initiatives to reduce spending on agency staff and increase financial control will not ...